Look How They Shine
by worldwithoutlogic
Summary: Draco and Hermione have a discussion on constellations and names, and it isn't long before they digress. Set post-war. "Now I just want to start afresh." He gazed into her eyes, before eyeing her lips.


_**Hey guys!**_

_**This is some short not-exactly-drabble-but-somewhat-drabblish oneshot I cooked up one sleepless night. XD**_

_**Kinda meaningless but it's just that my muse was acting weird and I had to satisfy it.**_

_**Set post-Hogwarts, kinda AU.  
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_**Suggested song to listen to while reading: Yellow by Coldplay :)**_

_**I do not own HP or Yellow or Coldplay.  
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><p><em>Look at the stars... Look how they shine for you.<em>

With the Battle of Hogwarts finally over, the castle was bathed in an eerily calm silence. The cries of those in agony were long gone; the fighting, shouting, and screaming faded into the seemingly distant past. Now, all that remained were memories, stagnant in the stillness of the night. Nothing rustled. Nothing moved. The grounds were uneasily quiet. And if one were to look around at the very top of the Astronomy Tower, where much of the action had been, all they would see was a pitch black night sky, with a distant smattering of stars splashed across the dark veil.

One would also have seen a pair of students lying under the limitless skies, huddling together under a thick blanket for warmth. They lay there in comfortable silence.

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><p>"I kind of miss the times when we were just kids," one of them was saying, a girl with a head of brown hair. "It seems like it was just yesterday when we walked into the Great Hall for the first time. I remember marvelling at the enchanted ceiling, and wondering where in the world the stars would be so bright and stunning," she smiled sadly, burrowing further into the blanket for warmth.<p>

"Really? Well, I clearly remember you ranting about how you read all about the enchanted ceilings in Hogwarts, A Hist- Oi!" her companion smirked sarcastically, earning himself a hard punch on the shoulder by Hermione.

"And I thought you'd changed, Malfoy!" Hermione said in mock horror, and the both of them smiled before relapsing into silence, eyes wandering aimlessly along the horizon.

The silence was broken soon after when Hermione piped up, voicing out her thoughts.

"Say, Malfoy. You took Astronomy before, didn't you? I wonder if we can still recognise these stars..." Hermione sighed wistfully. She pointed to a cluster of stars high up in the sky. "Hey, isn't that Draco?"

"Yup. My father named me after that constellation," he said, drawing himself up proudly, but Hermione could sense the hurt in his eyes whenever he mentioned his father- the one whom he put his whole trust in and his life on the line for, but who ultimately let Draco down in the end.

She quickly changed the focus of the conversation, saying, "Oh! But what's that constellation there?" Vaguely gesturing towards the horizon, she hoped to no end that Malfoy would stop thinking of his father and getting hurt over and over again.

The blond boy sat up slowly, grey eyes scanning the sky intently. His eyes suddenly widened and his face lit up.

"See that there? That's Scorpio." he smiled, further reminiscing the times when they were just students learning pointless things like Astronomy and Divination, when the mere thought of having to grow up so quickly was foreign to them.

"That's a really beautiful constellation. Maybe one day I'll name my child after that." Draco added, turning to gaze into Hermione's shining brown orbs.

"Speaking of which, I'd just want to mention that you look absolutely beautiful tonight, Hermione," he breathed, a trail of mist rising up into the night sky, and hers joined his soon after, from the laughter that uncontrollably escaped her mouth. She sat up as well, leaning on Malfoy's shoulder for support.

"It's been a long time since we just hung out like this. We sure have had a lot of growing up to do in the past year," Hermione exhaled, trailing her fingertips along Draco's arm.

"But the war's over. I've caused so much suffering to everyone and subsequently paid my debt." He motioned at the scars obtained by various means, wielded after being forced to do Voldemort's bidding due to his father's pressure and insistence, and continued, placing an arm around Hermione's shoulders.

"Now I just want to start afresh." He gazed into her eyes, before eyeing her lips.

"And what better way to do it than to renounce your hatred for Mudbloods, eh?" Hermione said wryly, lightly punching him on the upper arm, before she noticed that his eyes were on her. She ran her tongue over her lips unconsciously, and that did it for Malfoy.

He impulsively captured her lips in his, and their lips moved in a practiced rhythm, although neither had any prior experience with each other. It came naturally, just as how their hatred turned into blossoming love. Hermione sighed into his mouth, and he pulled her closer, arms around the small of her back.

At the touch of their lips, a breeze blew, rustling up the leaves and causing everything to seem to be brought back to life, a stark difference to the atmosphere in the grounds previously. The stars suddenly seemed to shine much brighter than before.

They broke apart, smiling endlessly.

"I see you have to work on your impulse, if you intend to start afresh," Hermione grinned, wrapping her arms around his forearm and snuggling closer into his warmth.

"I'd much like to keep it that way, thank you very much."

Before long it was tangled limbs and bated breath, and the pair sat under the night sky until the twinkling stars made way for the sun.

_... Look how they shine for you._

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><p><em><strong>Thanks for reading! Do comment :)<strong>_

_**And on a separate note, The Middle Man shall be updated this weekend. XD**_

_**Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  
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